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Unwelcoming Belts Of Snow
By CruiseDirector | July 3, 2010
Uranium is being searched for in the Antarctic by two scientists. Much controversy is associated with this project as it is seen to be a severe test for international cooperation. Agreed upon in 1961 was that Antarctica will be a continent to be used for international scientific research. When a higher level of interest is pursued for resources surrounded by icy weather and an unwelcoming cover of snow, there will surely be some straining in the fabric of international cooperation. As a person looking for antarctic cruise you should visit that site.
Antarctic summers are short so while the valleys were free of snow the scientists chose to go on helicopter rides with their West German colleagues and saw a magnificent view of the continent’s scenery. Frightful helicopter rides were encountered by the gentlemen. The radioactivity detector which they carry must be kept within a few hundred feet of the sheer cliffs.
Aside from the uranium, valuable resources can be obtained from the continent. When it comes to these resources locating them is already challenging enough but many are optimistic about how practical these will be in the future.
A Polish fleet is engage with the study of how to harvest krill, it is a cheap source for protein that resembles a shrimp and can be found in the Weddell Sea. Soviet geologists claim to have found a mountain of high grade iron ore. Americans then found ethane and methane in the Ross Sea in 1973 from their research vessel. Trace evidences like these can pretty much locate deposits of natural gas not to mention oil. You will find that further information on antarctic cruise reviews is on that site.
According to the US Geological Survey Antarctica’s continental shelf can well hold up to 45 billion barrels of oil and 115 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. Here is a difference of eight times for oil and six times for natural gas when compared to the yearly US consumption. Under the support of the National Science Foundation this year, geologists will be surveying the Dufec Intrusive. You can compare this with the mineral rich areas and the bush veld in South Africa where chromium and platinum could be found.
With American prompting, following the International Geophysical Year celebration, an Antarctic treaty was agreed upon by most of the nations present on the continent . Other than conducting open scientific research and not pursuing any territorial claims, part of the agreement included using the continent for peaceful purposes and preserving its environment and wildlife. It was the National Science Foundation that established the American bases.
The meeting of treaty nations in Oslo was where the problem of resource exploitation was thoroughly discussed. Everyone should agree before a change is made here. There is another sensitive issue and this is about other countries and valuable resources. As said by the scientists, the continent’s resources should be used to attain as much knowledge as possible. It has been said that the most serious challenge to be faced by the cooperation among nations is from resource development in the Antarctic.
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